ENG - The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military. DARPA has been responsible for funding the development of many technologies which have had a major effect on the world, including computer networking, as well as NLS, which was both the first hypertext system, and an important precursor to the contemporary ubiquitous graphical user interface.
Its original name was simply Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), but it was renamed to "DARPA" (for Defense) in March 1972, then renamed "ARPA" again in February 1993, and then renamed "DARPA" again in March 1996.
DARPA was established during 1958 (as ARPA) in response to the Soviet launching of Sputnik ...

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has proposed a new way to de-clutter outer space from huge space-debris floating freely in space.Released with little fanfare a few months ago, it was dubbed "The Catcher’s Mitt Study" – to assess the debris problem and its future growth, determine where the greatest problem will be for US assets and then, if appropriate, explore technically and economically feasible solutions for debris removal.According to Space.com, the report explains that active debris removal was found to be required at some point to maintain an ...

The research arm of the Department of Defense (DOD) is seeking to develop cloud-computing-based infrastructure that builds resiliency directly into the network to more effectively support military missions. Through a project called the Mission-oriented Resilient Clouds (MRC) program, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) aims to build a cloud-based network that will preserve "mission effectiveness" even in the event of a cyber attack, according to an announcement of a Proposer's Day for the project that DARPA is hosting May 26. The program is a companion to the agency's ...

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), in partnership with the Georgia Institute of Technology, has been selected to develop a new type of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) gyroscope technology for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Microscale Rate Integrating Gyroscope program.
The MEMS technology developed by Northrop Grumman and Georgia Tech during the initial 12-month award period will form the basis for a micro resonator gyro capable of achieving navigation grade performance. Utilizing a new MEMS fabrication process, the Northrop Grumman-led team will ...

2015/04/06 Marine Corps Leadership “Very Pleased” with 1st Successful Demonstration of DARPA’s Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) SystemClose air support (CAS)—delivery of airborne munitions to support ground forces—is difficult and dangerous because it requires intricate coordination between combat aircrews and dismounted ground forces (for example, joint terminal attack controllers, or JTACs). DARPA’s Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) program focuses on technologies to enable sharing of real-time situational awareness and weapons systems data through approaches designed to work with almost any aircraft. PCAS envisions more precise, prompt and easy air-ground coordination for CAS and other missions under stressful operational conditions and seeks to minimize the risk of friendly fire and collateral damage by enabling the use of smaller munitions to hit smaller, multiple or moving targets. This capability is critically important in urban environments.

2015/04/08 DARPA Seeks to Create Software Systems That Could Last 100 Years
As modern software systems continue inexorably to increase in complexity and capability, users have become accustomed to periodic cycles of updating and upgrading to avoid obsolescence—if at some cost in terms of frustration. In the case of the U.S. military, having access to well-functioning software systems and underlying content is critical to national security, but updates are no less problematic than among civilian users and often demand considerable time and expense. That is why today DARPA announced it will launch an ambitious four-year research project to investigate the fundamental computational and algorithmic requirements necessary for software systems and data to remain robust and functional in excess of 100 years.

2015/04/13 N-ZERO Envisions “Asleep-yet-Aware” Electronics that Could Revolutionize Remote Wireless Sensors
State-of-the-art military sensors today rely on “active electronics” to detect vibration, light, sound or other signals. That means they constantly consume power, with much of that power and time spent processing what often turns out to be irrelevant data. This power consumption limits sensors’ useful lifetimes to a few weeks or months when operating from state-of-the-art batteries, and has slowed the development of new sensor technologies and capabilities. Moreover, the chronic need to redeploy power-depleted sensors is not only costly and time-consuming but also increases warfighter exposure to danger.

2015/04/01 New DARPA Programs Simultaneously Test Limits of Technology, CredulityLess than one week after releasing Breakthrough Technologies for National Security (http://go.usa.gov/3rut4), DARPA’s latest summary of the Agency’s mission, accomplishments and funding priorities for extending its legacy of technological disruption, the Agency today announced four major new programs—evidence of DARPA’s commitment to pursuing high-risk/high-reward research and making the impossible possible.